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Part 2 of a 3-part commentary
by Gerry Silverstein
I live in a South Burlington home whose assessed value is 13% LESS than the average single family (non-Condo) home in SB.
This year (FY25) I have a property tax bill of ~$7,500, of which ~$5,500 is my education tax assessment.
My gross property tax bill is ~313% greater than the average property tax bill in all 50 States (as of 2022).
The 2-year (FY25 and FY26) education tax rate increase in the SB School District (SBSD) is about 16%, compared to my social security (senior citizen) 2-year increase of 5.7%.
Students in the SB school system who actually reside in SB comprise ~10.7% of all SB residents, while senior citizens in SB comprise about ~17.5% of residents.
Another real-world example of how “equity” in Vermont is a word, not a societal reality.
I also have the privilege of paying state income taxes on my social security income, as Vermont is only one of 9 states that taxes social security income (although low and low moderate-income Vermonters may pay no or little tax).
My state income taxes become part of the General Fund, and this year AND next year (AND for many years thereafter) $200 million dollars will move from the General Fund to the Vermont pension fund for teachers (VSTRS) because the fund is insufficiently capitalized (funded ratio of 61; below 60 is “red zone”) to cover all legally required payouts to retired teachers.
I not only pay the salary and benefits of current teachers with my education taxes but I also pay retired teachers with my state income taxes.
Spending in the SBSD will increase by 5% in FY26 compared to the voter-approved budget this year (FY25).
Compared to neighboring FY26 school district budgets: Burlington SD spending down by 7%, Champlain Valley SD spending up by 0.9%; Essex-Westford SD level funded—no year-over-year increase in spending.
The cost per SB pupil in FY26, based upon current enrollment (2,444) will be $29,259 (calculation based upon dividing total spending by actual current student number where one student is counted as one student which, believe it or not, is not how the Vermont AOE calculates spending per student. If interested a short opinion piece profiles a unique approach to public school pupil counting in Vermont).
If enrollment in the SBSD was static and spending increased 5% per year for the full 16 years of public-school education a student is eligible for (3 years pre-K and 13 years K-12) the cost to educate one student in the SB school system would be $712,000!
The high per pupil cost of education in SB is driven in large part by the fact that currently almost 30% of all SBSD personnel earn in salary alone $100,000 and more for 180 days of student contact.
The Superintendent, who has been on the job about 2 years, has a compensation package of about $250,000. Her compensation package rivals that of the Governor even though she oversees a budget of ~$71 million dollars compared to the Governor who oversees a budget of ~$8 billion dollars.
My education tax is driven in part by spending in SB public schools and in part by all spending by the State Education Fund (the Ed Fund).
What is my return on investment (ROI) in terms of student academic proficiency at both local and statewide levels?
The author, a South Burlington resident, is a virologist who taught courses related to human health and disease at UVM for 22 years.
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Categories: Commentary, Education
When purusing through real estate transactions, how is that properties purchased are owned by a gaggle of newly registered LLC’s? How is that the said properties are purchased for less than appraised value or far below the advertised asking price? How is that a number of LLC’s are registered to the same principal using personal and business addresses? How is that some LLC’s are not even registered, but listed as owners of newly purchased properties? Why does Vermont have so many LLC’s and non-profiteers in a comfy, cozy business relationship housed under the same roofs?
Perhaps the reason for school taxes being so high is a number of properties are not paying their fair share because of fraud, collusion and coercion? Are some taking full advantage of loop-holes, their positions, their connections and associates? Is it the in-laws and the outlaws are fully gaming the system to ensure they skate on some taxes while others get no quater at all? How are those TIF businesses making out these days?
The reason school taxes are high, as Dr. Silverstein points out, is because South Burlington is spending $29,259 per student (that’s per actual student with a heartbeat). In my school district, Westminster, Vermont (a backwater agricultural community), the cost per student is even higher.
And with a 4:1 student staff ratio is this any surprise. Especially given the never-ending cost of paying benefits to all of the retired staff. I suspect that there are significantly more school staff (current and retired) being paid than there are students. And this doesn’t count subcontracted services to various NGO non-profit education providers.
Now: Compare that cost scenario to Vermont’s existing School Choice Tuitioning program. In my school district our 7th & 8th grade is ‘tuitioned’. And because the program allows parents to choose the school (Public or Independent) that best meets the needs of their children, it is, by far and away, the most popular education program in our district. And the 7th & 8th grade tuitioned cost per student was less than $20,000 this year.
Do the math…. If you can.
Please, everyone. Be sure to read and support Rob Roper’s Substake article -‘Special Interests Versus the Children’.
Behind the Lines: Rob Roper on Vermont Politics
https://substack.com/@robertroper
What about that massive tiff project in south Burlington? These projects across the state are stealing taxpayer money intended for the schools.
When you add in the benefits and retirement I think you’ll find the pay is perhaps 50% higher than you stated. There are no jobs outside of state jobs that pay anywhere near as well as our teachers receive, which is why they are fighting so hard and the program is growing despite fewer students to teach.
Neil: Again, you’re missing the point. TIF (Tax Increment Financing) is a sidebar. It’s just one of many ways education funding is diverted from its intended use – away from educating our children. After all, if you really want to focus on diverted education funds, just consider the fact that as soon as a district approves a school budget, the school board can use the approved budget monies anyway they see fit. Once approved, there is no control.
The point here is how to correct this nonsense.
It doesn’t matter that teacher benefits and pay are higher or lower than those cited by Dr. Silverstein’s missive. What matters is how these dystopian idiosyncrasies can be corrected. Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees.
So, again, how can education governance be corrected? What’s the easiest, most direct education governance reform to correct the current dysfunction?
Read Rob Roper’s missive. ‘Special Interests Versus the Children’.
To sort of modify an old saying, “You’re preaching to a choir member.” I have never had children, and yet every year 2/3 of my local taxes ($4,500) goes to educating someone else’s prodigy. I know, I’ve heard it before, “But someone else helped pay for your education.” Just because someone else justifies something, (as they say, jumped off of a bridge)somehow, does that mean I should follow like a lamb to the slaughter ? It’s for the good of the collective . Sounds like something Karl Marx would have said . (maybe he did, I’m not exactly a fan of his, so the fact that he did, or did not say something, doesn’t mean s___ to me )
The author writes of his expected ‘ROI on student academic proficiency’.
Our kids score so poorly on math, reading, etc. because ‘academic proficiency’ is not the goal or telos of Vermont’s schools. Turning young minds into political activists and ideological neo-Marxists is the real goal.
Below is an excellent analysis of the Minnesota Department of Education’s Ethnic Studies Framework. Its ideas and concepts are in line with what is transpiring in Vermont’s schools.
Please, READ this fine analysis:
https://files.americanexperiment.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MDEs-Ethnic-Studies-Framework.pdf